Here is another immigration nightmare. This is not the America I know.
My friend's husband will be deported in 90 days. Her husband was born in Thailand and adopted as a child. Somehow the adoption paperwork was never finalized, his parents died, and he did not even know he was not a citizen. He had a felony conviction as a teenager, served time, then turned his life around; married, had kids, worked for Texas Instruments for 16 years. When he applied for a college loan, he was found to not be a citizen, was arrested by ICE and put in jail (February 2007).
At trial, almost a year later (Feb 2008), the judge agreed to immigrate him through his wife, who is a citizen. The appeals judge in D.C. however, overturned the decision, and now he is to be deported to a country he does not know. The appeals judge said that the crime he committed as a juvenile outweighs any good he's done since then.
We are trying to get her a meeting with Rep. Raul Grijalva.
I don't know what else to do.
Reading the NYTimes story today, doesn't give me much hope.
Update: I'm running out the door, but thanks for recommending. In answer to some comments;
Immigration is under federal law.
The man does not want publicity, because he is embarrased for his children to know about his conviction. We are advising my friend that publicity would be a good thing.
For now, she is planning to follow him to Thailand in about a year. The children attend my school, and my friend works there too.
Thanks again for all your good ideas.
Update 2. I'm overwhelmed by your responses. Thank you so much for your great ideas. I will respond to your comments when I get home from work. Thank you again.
Update 3. I'm home from work and this is still on the Rec. list. I'm honored. I am so sorry for those of you who have first hand experiences like my friend's and thankful for all the good advice you've shared with me. I will be sharing this with my friend and we will sift through the ideas and contact the people you've suggested. I am so grateful for this community. Thank you.